Chapter 59

"What child?" Lily said totally horrified.

"My daughter Zara. She's a 5th year in Ravenclaw. "he said calmly. "She has no idea that I'm her father. I truly loved her mother, but Malfoy and Rockwood got wind of her and so I had to leave her to keep her safe. I had no idea that she was expecting. When Zara was sorted I immediately recognized the family resemblance. She looked just like Susanna."

Lily was shocked. She had no idea that Severus had had been involved with somebody, let alone that he was the father of a child.

"Now I have no idea what to do. It's either your child or mine" he said.

"Is your Zara the Zara which is currently at headquarters?"

"Yes she is. Not even Dumbledore knows she's mine. I persuaded him to not send her home when the school was attacked because of her friendship to Harry"

"You need to tell her that you're her father. She does not deserve to get this kind of information from Voldemort, does she?"

"I don't know if I can do that Lily" Severus now started to sob. "She hates me! I'm Snape, the evil potions teacher. The oversized bat, who scares the living daylight out of every student just with looking at them. I know she doesn't want me to be her dad. "

Lily pulled him closer and his head sank on her shoulder.

"I love her so much and I'm so proud of her. She is a natural talent in potions and I wish I could just behave around her like I truly want to."

"Then you need to tell her. Tell her tonight! We are facing dangerous times and we don't know if we're all going to survive them. Tell her how you feel. Explain why you had to act the way you did. She's a smart girl; I'm sure she'll understand"

"But what about Harry?"

"Don't worry about Harry, Severus. I'm here and no force in this world will ever separate me from my child again. We will work everything out and you don't need to worry. You won't have to kill Albus or hand over my Harry, nor will your daughter die. Trust me!"

While Severus was now crying openly against her shoulder, Lily talked to him quietly and tried to soothe his tormented soul. She was stroking his hair and padded his hand while he calmed down and the sobs lessened.

After several minutes Severus had regained his composure. He hugged Lily and thanked her for listening to him.

"You better get your slimy hands off my wife, git, or I'll hex them off" James yelled as he saw the two through the open side door.

"Cut it out James!" Lily replied sternly. "It's nothing wrong about saying hello to an old friend."

"Saying doesn't include touching if I remember right"

James was certainly angry. He never understood the strange friendship between his wife and the Slytherin bat.

Lily was now standing between Severus and James.

"She might be your wife Potter, but she's not your property. She can pick her own friends if you please"

"Looks like the slimy git has been crying" Sirius taunted and both of them chuckled.

"To your information, Black, I can't cry even if I wanted to. I'm not blessed with emotions as true and pure as yours." Snape sneered.

Sirius eyes were glinting with rage. Snape was the only one who had overheard him crying after he had found out that James and Lily had been serious with each other. His crush on Lily was long gone. He had fallen in love with somebody else and had been happy as long as it lasted, but that one night had been terrible and Snape never missed a chance to rub it in his face.

The others looked at them confusedly. They had no idea what Snape was talking about.

Then Sirius pointed his wand at Snape and shouted "Refervesco"

Immediately, big bubbles in all colors of the rainbow emerged from Snape's mouth as soon as he opened it.

Severus didn't wait very long. "VOCIS" he roared and Sirius grabbed his throat.

"What the 'ell did you do Snape" he purred in a very silly French accent.

Everybody started to laugh and soon the whole floor was slippery from Snape's soap bubbles.

"That's enough. It's Christmas after all and we should maintain a little peace at last" Remus said firmly before he cancelled the spells.

"How strange! A werewolf, the most brutal beast on this earth, is playing peacekeeper. That must be the Christmas spirit" Severus taunted.

"Severus Snape! I'm not going to stay here and watch you insulting one of my friends!" Lily shouted.

"I'm sorry Lily, but I ..."

"I don't want to hear it" Lily cut him off.

"Great Lily, you're finally back to your senses" James cheered. "After all what he did to Harry I doubt you want to be his friend any longer"

Lily, who was already on her way to the door turned around and glared at Snape.

"Exactly what did you do to Harry?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows.

Severus glared back at her and replied "His way to stretch and break the rules resembles very much the way of his father. All I did was show him the consequences of his action if he should continue to step out of line"

"Nonsense Snape! You punished him more often and harder than anyone of your other students. And often enough for things others had done; just because he's James' son"." Sirius growled.

"Is this true Severus" Lily said sadly.

"Yes Lily, it is" he admitted.

"I will see you tonight at the feast and then I expect you to explain me in details why abusing my son gives you a sort of satisfaction" she retorted and left the room without looking back.

They passed the potions classroom and outside Lily informed them that she wanted to see if Kim was in her quarters.

"You don't need to come along, dear. I will meet you in the Great Hall in, shall we say two hours?"

"That's fine with me Lily. I'm sure we can find something to keep us occupied" James said with a wink at Sirius.

Lily gave them a suspicious look but decided to just get going.

Remus, Sirius and James walked upstairs into the entrance hall.

"I hope you don't mind when I leave you here" Remus excused himself. "I still have school work to deal with. So I trust I will see you two tonight"

James and Sirius decided to pay Hagrid a visit and as soon as they were outside and on the grounds, they transformed.

They passed the grounds quickly, trying not to be seen by any of the dragon trainers. To their disappointment, Hagrid was not in his cabin. They didn't dare to search in the Forbidden Forest, because that would have brought them too close to the dragons.

"Let's have a walk along the lake then" James suggested.

"What? A walk around the lake?" Sirius called enraged. "Do you feel so old already?"

James chuckled and said "If you have a better idea, bring it on"

Lily was knocking on the door that led to Kimberly's quarters. "Come in" Lily entered carefully and found the room empty. "Take a seat, I'll be right there" she heard Kim and sat down next to the fireplace.

The door to, what Lily guessed, was the bathroom opened and her old friend walked in wrapping a towel around her head. She was dressed in a comfortable set of robes and was barefooted. "Lily" she screamed as she spotted her and just seconds later Lily was pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh my... dearest Lily...hun...sweetie. It's unbelievable. You're not dead! Oh my ... HOLY COW... sit down... please have a seat... here make yourself comfortable... great ...fine....yes...uhm"

Lily was laughing heartily now. Kimberly had always been known for being a bit scatterbrained and easy to confuse. Slytherins would call her slow or dumb, but they were terribly mistaken. Matter of fact, she was very intelligent but her agitated way of behaving when she was nervous or excited fooled most of the people. Her friends, however, looked past all that and saw the caring and loving person that she truly was.

They two women sat down at the little table in Kimberly's sitting room. Although it was in the dungeons, the room looked cosy and you could recognize the feminine touch.

The Gryffindor colors were dominating; the furniture was delicate and held in light colors.

Her chaotic way was reflecting in the way her quarters looked like. It seemed that Kim had just been searching for the perfect outfit for tonight's events when Lily came to visit.

Robes were lying around all over the place, mingling with books and parchment. It looked like a very creative mess.

Lily filled her friend in on everything that had happened in the past.

"Yes, Albus told me how he tricked Fudge into releasing Sirius until his official trial." Kimberly stated.

Lily recognized the way her friend's eyes were glinting as she mentioned Sirius.

"Do you think he will be attending the feast tonight?" Kim said, blushing slightly.

"Oh I'm sure he will." Lily assured her. Then, more like an afterthought, she added "You still like him..."

"Oh Lily, I never stopped. I truly loved him, but I also understood his decision. He was afraid that something could happen to me and possible children as long as he was working as an auror and Voldemort being such a thread."

Lily never truly understood Sirius reaction on that matter. In her point of view, her old friend had gotten cold feet when it came to making a commitment to Kim. They had been all very young and Kimberly being three years younger than Sirius had just been of age.

She knew Sirius had never intended to hurt her and maybe now that things looked different they still had a chance.

"Would you want Sirius and you become serious again? After all those years?" Lily questioned.

"Lily, I honestly don't know" Kimberly admitted. "We both have changed a lot and now that the times are getting darker again..."

Lily nodded. Trying to change the subject to something more enjoyable, she said "So how do you like your current teaching position here at Hogwarts?"

The next hour the two friends talked about Kim's previous teaching positions and finally Lily heard all about Harry's little war with Malfoy.

During Kimberly's narrative, Lily's eyes had turned from the regular vivid green to a dusky green which almost looked black.

"Oh I thing I will have a little chat with Master Draco when I get a chance" she growled and her hands balled to fists.

"It's so terrible, how much my poor Harry had to go through. Everybody seemed to be against him. Fortunately he has his great friends to look out for him"

"Oh I totally forgot about the time, Kim. I promised James to meet him in the Great Hall. I trust to see you tonight, my dear" Lily said and gave Kim a quick peck on the cheek before she rushed out of the room.

James and Sirius were rummaging in Hagrid's shed while Lily was chatting with Kim. "He must have one in here... I know it!" Sirius panted while he searched through all the boxes and cages. "He told me once that he always helps him hatching some of them, because they're having so many eggs now"

"Oh I know Snivellus will be delighted to have some company" James grinned mischievously.

"Oh I found them... James, look!"

James looked at the box Sirius was holding and nodded approvingly. They left the shed, the box securely hidden under Sirius cloak, and headed back to the castle. When they reached the dungeons, they recognized Snape leaving the potions classroom. The two pranksters dashed into a dark side corridor and waited until the potion master had passed.

"Do you think you can break through his wards?" Sirius asked, chuckling in pleasant anticipation.

"I wouldn't be a true marauder if I couldn't. We were the best aurors back in the days.... even Moody said so. I'm sure we can get through petty Slytherin traps" James said airily as the reached the door.

"I'm sure after this Snivellus is going to make sure his wards are not so easily to break." Sirius said.

They entered and moved straight into Snape's private quarters once again.

"This will teach him a lesson to keep his hands off of my wife and not to torture my son" James stated angrily.

They placed the box in Snape's closet and opened the lid slightly. After closing the closet door carefully, they rushed back into the hallway.

They were about to head up the staircase when they heard Lily saying good bye to Kimberly.

"That was close, mate" Sirius chuckled. "I trust she would not be pleased if she knew about our little Christmas present"

James laughed and nodded before they both proceeded into the Great Hall.

Harry and the others rushed inside, freezing, but in a very good mood.

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"Did you see that Wronski feint?" Ron called very impressed. "I have never seen anybody fly like that before... not even Krum!"

Harry smiled happily. Yes his father was marvellous on a broom. He caught the snitch so many times before Harry had even spotted it.

Now they were all looking forward to some hot chocolate and some snacks, before the great feast tonight.

When they entered the kitchen, Mrs Weasley threw her hands in the air in mock dismay. "My dears, you better go upstairs and wash up quickly; I will provide you with some hot beverages when you're done. Hurry up, you lot or you'll get sick" she called and shooed them out of the kitchen.

"But remember to be quiet in the hallway, Fred and George!" their mother said sternly, placing her hands on her hips.

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Severus was frustrated. He didn't feel like attending the feast at all. Of course he was looking forward to seeing his daughter, but to spend a whole evening with the two Gryffindor morons was truly dreadful.

Also he would have to explain his previous actions to Lily. He couldn't expect that she was overlooking the way he treated her son.

If he wouldn't be so much like James..., Severus thought. His head is already as big as his father's. He doesn't care about rules and expects to get away with everything, just because he's the Boy-who-lived. Someone had to treat him like a regular student and not like a celebrity.

After a quick shower, he was about to get changed into his dress robes, when he recognized a little noise in his closet.

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James and Sirius were sitting in his old room, holding something that looked like a crystal ball. In fact it was a surveillance device. They had left its counterpart in Snape's closet earlier this day.

They could watch everything that was going on in his bedroom and now they wanted to see how the potion master reacted to their little present.

Severus grabbed his wand and pointed it at the closet door. Instantly it popped open and Severus howled in disgust.

"Did you see that James?" Sirius was laughing. "He found Aragog's next generation."

The two men were shaking with laughter as they watched their old enemy losing it.

Snape glared at the mob of spiders that crawled inside his closet. They were everywhere. Inside his robes, between his shirts and in his shoes. He felt his hands getting sweaty and he had to breath deeply.

Oh my god, I can't even look at it or I'm going to vomit

Since he was a little boy, he had been afraid of spiders. He could handle them as potions ingredients, as long as they were dead, but as long as their nasty bodies were moving he felt like rooted to the spot.

He pointed his wand inside his closet and tried to vanish them but...

"He just tried to vanish them" James stated between fits of laughter. "Yep, he did. Too bad he has no idea that vanishing spells don't work on them. Their system changes the spell and let them double their size instead." Sirius agreed.

They both returned their attention back to the surveillance ball and watched.

Severus recognized with horror that the tiny spiders already had the size of galleons. Only after trying the vanishing spell again, which caused the spiders to grow to the size of his palm, he figured that the spell he was using was the reason for their sudden growth.

"Very smart and observing our Professor" James smirked while they glared into the silver orb. "Let's see what he tries next"

Severus was shuddering now, he just couldn't stand to be around them, but he needed to find the source.

He grabbed a piece of parchment from his night stand and pushed the spiders out of the way.

Then he spotted, in the depth of the closet, a little black box. He lifted the lid and peeked inside, only to see even a hundred more spiders.

"Merlin's bead" he sighed and the horror he was experiencing could clearly be heard in his voice.

"Where is he going now?" Sirius wondered, as they watched Snape leaving the room.

"Oh the poor wittle Snivellus is scared... Awwww" James taunted before another fit of laughter shook his body.

Just moments later Severus returned to the bedroom, carrying a large metal box. He placed it in front of the closet and levitated the spider box into it.

Just then one of the bigger spiders started crawling up his leg.

I'm not going to scream, he thought desperately. No I'm not! They are not getting this kind of satisfaction. Potter and Black! I know this was your sick idea and I know you're watching me.

Only a little squeak emerged his lips as he removed the spider from his leg with his wand and placed it into the metal box.

He hurried to finish his task and several minutes later his closet was clean of spiders.

With a flick of his wand, Snape sealed he box and levitated it out of the bedroom.

Hagrid will know what to do with them, he thought grimly. And tonight I'm going to sleep in one of the Slytherin guest room. First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to instruct Filch to search my quarters thoroughly for any remaining spiders.

"Did you hear him squeak, James" Sirius called. "That was simply wonderful!"

"I doubt that he will ever lay his hands on Lily again. He always hated spiders. His sister told me that many, many years ago." James added, before he stored the silver orb in one of the closets.